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Pre Travel Testing Program Delayed Again Until October 1st
Hawaii has been closed off to the vast majority of tourists since the end of March. Even though transpacific travel to Hawaii is still possible, doing so requires a 14-day mandatory quarantine. This has discouraged both local residents and business owners who have had to rely heavily on assistance programs and short-term business loans to stay afloat. That was supposed to change on Sept. 1st when the pre-travel testing program outlined by Governor Ige’s office was set to roll out.
As a refresher, the pre-travel testing program would allow someone traveling to Hawaii to forgo the 14-day quarantine if they showed proof of a negative COVID-19 test 72 hours before arriving. The program also required additional paperwork and temperature screening at the airport for all incoming passengers. Yesterday, Governor Ige announced that the pre-travel testing program would be delayed again until Oct. 1st at the earliest.
This is what Governor Ige had to say concerning the current conditions in Hawaii, “We will continue to monitor the conditions here in Hawaii as well as key markets on the mainland to determine the appropriate start date for the pretravel testing program,” Ige said. “We will be making that announcement in time so that the hospitality industry would have the time they need to staff up and begin to support the pretravel testing program.”
This announcement comes on the heels of a surge in new COVID-19 cases on Oahu which prompted the reinstatement of social gathering restrictions designed to slow the spread of the virus in Hawaii. Luckily, even with an uptick in cases, Maui has been able to keep the number of new cases relatively low, which is a trend we hope continues in the coming months.